"Yes, through Morning Star Space, any Morning Star warlock can receive reinforcements at any time and place. Even if our brothers are scattered across the entire Central Continent, this can keep us closely connected…"
Paul spoke with a tone of reverence, and one could clearly hear the admiration he held for the warlock behind the scenes who had conceived this plan.
"Yes, if I had had the coordinates for Morning Star Space last time, things wouldn't have been nearly so arduous…" Leylin sighed with a seemingly helpless expression.
"Haha… it's not too late to find out now!" The steel puppet's hand tried to pat Leylin's shoulder but passed straight through the shadow.
Perhaps to cover the awkwardness, Paul immediately chuckled again and said: "Oh! Right — all of our bloodline warlock organisations offer long-range teleportation services to one another. Of course, there's a fee involved, and you need to maintain a relationship of at least 'friendly' with the other party!"
"The unity among bloodline warlocks is really something…"
A sharp gleam flickered in Leylin's eyes as he immediately grasped the implications of this function.
Even with the Sky Throne's airship network, travelling from one end of the Central Continent to the other would take a minimum of years of sailing, with countless danger zones to cross along the way. Even for a Morning Star, it was a tremendous hassle.
So, unless it was absolutely necessary, the other Wizards each stayed within their own territory, rarely undertaking extremely long-distance journeys.
But once Morning Star Space teleportation was used, reaching virtually anywhere on the Central Continent became almost instantaneous — as long as a Morning Star-level warlock organisation existed at the destination.
Of course, since the teleportation formation was essentially an Astral Gate, arriving would put you right inside the other party's headquarters or even their Wizard Tower.
This naturally posed a certain threat to the warlock being teleported, and the warlock assisting with the teleportation wouldn't casually expose the secrets of their own lair to another warlock.
This required both sides' Morning Star warlocks to possess at least a baseline level of trust, as well as unity.
Still, Leylin believed that under the immense pressure from external Wizards and the coordination of several Radiant Moon Wizards within their ranks, this wasn't a problem for the time being.
"The space here is vast, with many uninhabited zones. As long as you claim one, it's yours — do whatever you want with it, so long as you don't encroach on public territory!"
Paul continued: "I have a castle outside myself, but be careful — those uninhabited zones still contain some grudges and vengeful spirits left over from the previous plane. Getting hurt by accident would be extremely troublesome, since it's the accumulated malice of an entire plane…"
Leylin nodded with a grave expression, wisely choosing not to ask what had become of the original inhabitants of the plane.
"By the way… where is that Trading Hall?"
Leylin looked around casually. After leaving the earlier plaza, the paths on either side were lined with sparse shops of various kinds, each manned by a puppet or clone. They sold private goods, and some shops had their doors closed entirely, admitting only members.
But even just the glow from the display counters left Leylin somewhat stunned. The Astral Stones he had searched for with such difficulty back when he was Tier 3 seemed to be practically free here — almost every shop had several on display.
A Morning Star-level trading venue naturally held no shortage of good things. Leylin even spotted several mid-grade magical artifacts.
What puzzled Leylin, however, was that the Trading Hall he had always heard about was nowhere to be found. After practically touring the entire venue, he still hadn't come across any building of the sort.
"Well… Lord Leylin, my castle isn't far ahead. Why don't we head there first, sit down, and sample some Rainbow Juice and Gemstone Meat from the Culinary World — how does that sound?"
Paul gave an awkward smile.
Leylin's expression cooled, and a trace of displeasure flickered across his face. It was obvious that Paul was afraid that, once Leylin had toured the trading hall and gotten a proper estimate of the resources on hand, he would drive a harder bargain — robbing Paul of any chance to get the better end of the deal.
"Heehee… Big Octopus, are you swindling newcomers again?"
Before Leylin could even react, a massive flower resembling a rose burst into laughter from nearby.
The rose stood as tall as an ordinary person, its lower stems twisted together into a shape that resembled a pair of human legs. From the center of its bloom, the face of a young girl peered out.
"Hey! Newbie, the trading posts for the public zone are right above your head — just look up and you'll see them. You're welcome…"
The giant humanoid rose hummed a tune and hopped away, while Paul's face flushed red with embarrassment. Fortunately, he was currently operating a puppet, so nothing could really be made out.
"Above my head?!"
Leylin looked up in astonishment, gazing at the vast, cosmos-like expanse of stars. In particular, a massive celestial body in the center seemed on the verge of plummeting downward, with numerous rings of light swirling around it, forming brilliant, ritual-like patterns.
"Could it be?!"
A thought struck Leylin, and his soul force surged outward toward the satellite in an instant.
BOOM!
As if the universe itself were undergoing a Big Bang, countless streams of information crashed through Leylin's mind in a torrent. Had he not already advanced to the Morning Star realm — and had some prior experience with such things — the deluge would have blown his consciousness apart on the spot.
"Selling 5,562 grams of Astral Stone! Accepting equivalent goods in exchange!"